The Laptop Thread: Configs, deals & questions

This is a discussion on The Laptop Thread: Configs, deals & questions within Gadgets, Computers & Software, part of the Shifting gears category; Originally Posted by stefanm
Thanks for the inputs so far, I have pretty much decided to go for a dell ...

Thanks for the inputs so far, I have pretty much decided to go for a dell studio 15, having checked out their pricing in the US with regards to my required upgrades, the pricing is almost the same, I will probably book the machine tomorrow. The reason for going for dell is 1:Great service and 2: Great options for my requirements and 3: The build quality and performance of the monitor are superior to the Acer that I was considering. I have increased my budget due to the fact that I no longer require to invest in a showroom and will be working predominantly from my home to start with. I have chosen the base model which retails at Rs 41,999 and added extras mostly based on performance, the specs are as follows.
1: Colour, Plum Purple (wifes choice)
2: Intel C2D T6500 (Std)
3: Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit (Std)
4: 1 Year Accidental Damage Cover
5: FULL HD Display (1920x1080) - (I require hi res and if required I can hook up to LCD TV's & Monitors)
6: 4GB Ram (Std. is 3GB)
7: 320GB Hard Drive 7200RPM (Need for speed)
8: Std DVD writer
9: ATI 512MB Radeon HD4570 (Again need for speed)
10: Creative Sound Blaster X-FI MB Software (Not sure why I ticked this option, please advise?)
11: Std network wi-fi card
12: Std Palmrest
13: Belkin Backpack
14: Std Keyboard (Don't see the need for backlighting?)
15: McAfee A/v 15 months (Is this worth it?, I have been using free software with no probs for a long time, Zonealarm, Avira, Spybot and Malwarebytes)
16: The total price comes to Rs 51,905.70+900bucks for delivery within 7 days

How does this spec sound guys? Please advise on my options.

Cheers,

Stefan

Stefan

Studio 15 is an absolute stunner. You will love it. You will be eligible for a free Windows 7 upgrade when its officially launched from DELL. I have some inputs here.

Please go for the basic Black backcover. I have seen the different colored ones and IMHO it does not look as great or elegant as black.

Please dont go for the Creative Sound Blaster X-FI MB Software. Its just a SW by Creative which interfaces with the onboard HD Audio which gives you extra tweaks for your Audio such as mixer and stuff like tht.

Studio 15 is an absolute stunner. You will love it. You will be eligible for a free Windows 7 upgrade when its officially launched from DELL. I have some inputs here.

Please go for the basic Black backcover. I have seen the different colored ones and IMHO it does not look as great or elegant as black.

Please dont go for the Creative Sound Blaster X-FI MB Software. Its just a SW by Creative which interfaces with the onboard HD Audio which gives you extra tweaks for your Audio such as mixer and stuff like tht.

Try to go for a 500GB HDD.

Free SW like AVG, ZA, Malwarebytes do a good job.

Thanks for the advice, i'm thinking on the same lines as you, my wife wants a colour, so i'll let her decide on that, wasn't sure about the creative sb stuff, as it's only software and we use proper hi-fi old school systems for the desktop, so no issues for the lappy

As for the Harddrive, I wanted the 7200rpm perfomance drive, I have a 500gb external drive so space is not an issue, speed is though and I will use the external drive for backups. 320gb will be ok for me, i don't want to store too much as this slows the system with all the indexing etc.

With regards to the Anti virus, i'm not convinced with Norton and mcafee etc, i find them too heavy on the system, plus all my downloading will be done on the desktop.

I have been using an Acer Travelmate for past 4+ years now, and it has given no headaches to me whatsoever. Even the battery lasted for most part of 3 years with 12-14 hrs per day average usage.

However, now its really tired and I'm looking for an upgrade, and I want to go for another Acer since they seem really VFM and not many complaints as well.

I zeroed in on the Aspire 5738Z and called the dealer (Acer Mall). He told me that it would cost me 25.5k+2500 (carry case)+ 4 per cent VAT. Which means I can get it for around 29k. I told him that I don't want a carry case, and that I already have a Acer on which he said, 'it is compulsory to buy it from the company'. I mean if it is really the case, the cost should include the carry case and not quoted separately. What is the meaning of this. Suddenly this deal doesn't sound great anymore.

Should I try other dealers (barring the auth. Acer ones) and see if I can get a better price?

@jk- Aspire 4736Z sounds good. Where is the price that you have mentioned quoted? Only thing is, 5738 has a 15.6 inch screen which is really tempting.

I zeroed in on the Aspire 5738Z and called the dealer (Acer Mall). He told me that it would cost me 25.5k+2500 (carry case)+ 4 per cent VAT. Which means I can get it for around 29k. I told him that I don't want a carry case, and that I already have a Acer on which he said, 'it is compulsory to buy it from the company'. I mean if it is really the case, the cost should include the carry case and not quoted separately. What is the meaning of this. Suddenly this deal doesn't sound great anymore.

Should I try other dealers (barring the auth. Acer ones) and see if I can get a better price?

@jk- Aspire 4736Z sounds good. Where is the price that you have mentioned quoted? Only thing is, 5738 has a 15.6 inch screen which is really tempting.

@jkdas: I have 4GB in my Vista desktop! a 32bit OS can support up to 4GB!

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobike008

+1 to that. Even I have 4GB running on my Vista though it is 64-bit OS.

Just a clarification here - a 32 Bit OS can not use full 4 GB. 'Supporting' is not same as 'utilising'. If you do install 4 Gigs, it wont say no to it, but use only somewhere around 3.5 GB only. There are some softwares/patches who make you feel that full 4 GB is being used, but truth is far from that. So, beyond that is, basically a waste of investment. The optimum memory for a laptop would therefore, be 2 + 1 = 3 GB because they usually come with only two slots. Do not fall for vendor's gimmicks and waste your money on 4 GB RAM + 32 bit OS.

With 64 bit OS, things are pretty different, they can read upto 127 GB so no problem with them - atleast for 'near' forseeable future.

Really impressed with the screen, its bright and very sharp. The general speed is also very swift given the fact that it runs on 4 GB RAM and latest Core 2 Duo Proc. Got if from US for 52k's. The laptop is now 100 $ cheaper but never mind, I wouldnt have got such a deal in India for sure.

Does anybody using Dell Inspiron 6400? Well I have one with 1 GB of RAM purchased in 2007 May. It is running Windows Vista Home Premium and it is pain in 1 GB RAM.

I thought of upgrading RAM to 4GB (2GBX2) but various forums in web having conflicting reports that it it will not work with 4GB RAM. I did not want to give it a try and wasting stuff. So, ordered 1GBX2 RAM 667 MHz in place of original 512MBX2 RAMs. So I am just doubling RAM.

Has anybody upgraded Inspiron 6400 RAM to 4GB? I think it has Intel 945 chipset.

The laptop nor the phone is able to identify each other as i get a "no device" found message despite going to bluetooth options in Laptop and adding device and doing the same with phone as well.

I tried on Bold both listening and search for a device option. But, it comes back with a message " No Device Found"

Can someone help?

Put the lappy in discovery mode. BTW pavillion are overpriced crap.

i wonder why are you not using the cable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by anujmishra

Does anybody using Dell Inspiron 6400? Well I have one with 1 GB of RAM purchased in 2007 May. It is running Windows Vista Home Premium and it is pain in 1 GB RAM.

I thought of upgrading RAM to 4GB (2GBX2) but various forums in web having conflicting reports that it it will not work with 4GB RAM. I did not want to give it a try and wasting stuff. So, ordered 1GBX2 RAM 667 MHz in place of original 512MBX2 RAMs. So I am just doubling RAM.

Has anybody upgraded Inspiron 6400 RAM to 4GB? I think it has Intel 945 chipset.

Check it out, its very expensive and its almost the cost of your lappy.
my advice for you is sell this and buy a netbook for her. Price starts about 14k.